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MLB Rumors: San Francisco Giants putting press on Johnny Cueto

By Kyle Franzoni

Jul 31, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; (Editors note: Caption correction) Kansas City Royals pitcher Johnny Cueto (47) throws a pitch during the first inning in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 31, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; (Editors note: Caption correction) Kansas City Royals pitcher Johnny Cueto (47) throws a pitch during the first inning in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /
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The San Fransisco Giants are still in search of pitching help and appear to have their sights set on free agent Johnny Cueto.

Pitching has been at the forefront thus far during the Major League Baseball offseason, with big money contracts and blockbuster trade writing headlines nearly daily. While some teams have filled holes and found the arms they needed to bolster their pitching staffs, others are still on the hunt and looking to make a splash.

The San Francisco Giants are among those teams.

Early this winter, the Giants were said to be deep in the Zack Greinke market, hoping to lure the former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher to their division rivals. However, both teams lost out on Greinke, as he ultimately signed a record contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Now, both teams appear to be playing in the same sandbox again.

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Giants are among the teams making a strong push for fellow free agent Johnny Cueto. Unfortunately, the Dodgers are also looking at Cueto in order to replace the departed Greinke.

The 29-year-old Cueto is coming off an up and down season. He went 7-6 with a 2.62 ERA, a 3.20 FIP, and a 8.3 K/9 ratio while pitching for the Cincinnati Reds this season. However he stumbled after a midseason trade to the Kansas City Royals, going 4-7 with a 4.76 ERA, a 4.06 FIP, and a 6.2 K/9 ratio in the American League. Things didn’t look much better during the postseason either, with Cueto surrendering 15 earned runs over four starts during the Royals World Series run.

The late season struggled and some missed starts with arm troubles have quelled the market a bit on Cueto to start the winter. However, with Greinke and Price off the market, the right-hander is now the top arm available and should be able to fetch a solid deal due to his track record.

Cueto declined a six-year, $120 million offer from the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier this winter, in part because he thought the number was low for the market. Given the deals handed out to Price and Greinke, and the lack of a true ace on the market, Cueto probably read that right. Now he can play off of the deep pockets of both the Dodgers and Giants in order to secure a bigger deal.

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